Start with every form on your site. If a form collects anything that could identify a patient, even something as simple as a request for an appointment, it can involve PHI. Those forms must live on secure servers and use end-to-end encryption for transmission. Data should travel through HTTPS with SSL or TLS enabled, and it should never sit unencrypted on your website server. Ideally, form submissions go straight into a secure, HIPAA-compliant system rather than being stored locally.
Any third-party vendor that might touch PHI must sign a Business Associate Agreement with your practice. That includes your hosting company, form tools, patient portal providers, IT support vendors, and sometimes marketing platforms if they receive patient information. A BAA is what legally binds the vendor to HIPAA requirements. If a vendor won’t sign one, they shouldn’t be handling PHI on your behalf.
A basic but essential check is whether your site uses HTTPS. Your URL should begin with “https” and show a padlock icon in the browser. This indicates encryption is active and protects data between a patient’s browser and your server. If any page, especially one with forms, still loads on HTTP, that’s a compliance red flag.
This is where many practices get tripped up. Tracking tools like ad pixels, session replay, or even analytics can collect identifiers that HIPAA may treat as PHI if they connect a visitor to care, services, or conditions. The safest approach is to disable or tightly restrict tracking on sensitive pages. That includes appointment forms, patient portals, and condition-specific landing pages. If tracking must be used, it needs to be configured to avoid collecting identifying health data.
Email is not automatically HIPAA compliant. If your forms send notification emails, those messages should never include PHI. Keep them general, like “You have a new form submission,” and require staff to view details in a secure system. Any two-way communication tied to appointments, diagnosis, or treatment should happen inside an encrypted patient portal or other HIPAA-safe messaging tool.
HIPAA compliance includes where and how data is stored, not just what your website looks like. Your hosting provider should offer healthcare-ready safeguards like access controls, monitoring, intrusion detection, and secure backups. Your medical practice IT support team usually handles this area, but you should still confirm that your hosting environment is designed for HIPAA-level security and that the right agreements are in place.
Compliance is ongoing. Your CMS, themes, plugins, and server software need regular updates to patch vulnerabilities. Set a maintenance schedule, use strong passwords and multifactor authentication, and monitor for intrusion attempts. A website that isn’t maintained becomes risky over time, even if it started out compliant.
HIPAA compliant website design protects your practice and your patients. By working through this checklist, you can spot common gaps in forms, tracking tools, hosting, and maintenance that often lead to violations. If anything feels unclear, bring in experienced healthcare web and IT professionals who understand HIPAA’s technical requirements. Getting ahead of risk now is far easier than cleaning up a breach later.
Q1: Can I use Google Analytics on a HIPAA compliant website design?
A: You can use analytics only if no PHI is collected or transmitted to it. Because standard analytics platforms aren’t built for HIPAA by default, practices must be careful to prevent any identifying health data from reaching those tools. Some clinics choose healthcare-specific analytics options for added safety.
Q2: Are tracking pixels always a HIPAA violation?
A: Not always, but they become risky quickly on healthcare websites. If a tracking tool collects data that links a visitor to a health service or condition, that can create a compliance issue. It’s best to disable tracking on sensitive pages unless you have a HIPAA-safe setup.
Q3: If I use a third-party booking widget, is it automatically HIPAA compliant?
A: No. You need to confirm the vendor will sign a BAA and that they encrypt data during transmission and storage. If they can’t meet those standards, the widget shouldn’t collect appointment or health details.
Q4: Does my medical practice IT support team handle HIPAA for my website?
A: They should oversee technical safeguards like hosting security, access controls, encryption, backups, and monitoring. But compliance is shared, so your marketing team, website vendor, and IT support need aligned policies and clear roles.
Q5: What’s an easy first step if I’m unsure about compliance?
A: List every place your website collects information and every tool that receives that data. Then confirm encryption, storage practices, and BAAs for each one. That inventory usually surfaces the biggest risks quickly.